November 30, 2025
TO: Provincial Presidents and Secretaries
CC: National Officers (for information), National Life Member Liaison
FROM: Jessie Parkinson, National Chairperson of Social Justice
Please forward this message to chairpersons of social justice.
“If you want peace, work for justice” (Pope Paul VI).
Pope Leo XIII’s key teachings on the poor and needy are primarily found in his 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum (“On the Condition of Labor”). In it, he addressed the injustices faced by the working poor during the Industrial Revolution, advocating for their rights and special consideration by the state while rejecting both unfettered capitalism and socialism. He wrote that poverty includes not only material and social deprivation but also moral, spiritual and cultural poverty, and of the “poverty of those who have no rights, no space, no freedom” (Pope Leo XIV).
One hundred and thirty-four years later, in his apostolic exhortation Dilexi te (“I have loved you”), Pope Leo XIV wrote, “On the wounded faces of the poor, we see the suffering of the innocent and, therefore, the suffering of Christ himself. At the same time, we should perhaps speak more correctly of the many faces of the poor and of poverty, since it is a multifaceted phenomenon. In fact, there are many forms of poverty: the poverty of those who lack material means of subsistence, the poverty of those who are socially marginalized and lack the means to give voice to their dignity and abilities, moral and spiritual poverty, cultural poverty, the poverty of those who find themselves in a condition of personal or social weakness or fragility, the poverty of those who have no rights, no space, no freedom.”
For the same sentiment of these holy men to resonate across more than a century of growth and modernization speaks to how numb people have become in the face of poverty. That Canadians live in the richest period of human history, where conspicuous luxury and marvels are commonplace, yet large swathes of humanity still exist on the fringes of this opulence, struggling to make ends meet, is not only a humanitarian crisis but a spiritual and moral one. Through them, members see more clearly the role of social justice in our endeavours to care for the poor. Let us be their voice in 2026. Let us seek out the injustices we see in society and be a catalyst for change.
On January 1st, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Catholics will celebrate the World Day of Peace. Pope Leo XIV’s theme is Peace be with you all: Towards an ‘unarmed and disarming’ peace. “This peace must be unarmed, that is, not based on fear, threats or weapons,” notes the August 26th press release from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. “And it must be disarming, capable of resolving conflicts, opening hearts and generating mutual trust, empathy and hope.”
Members can pray for peace on January 1st, but it is equally important that we carry it forward through a way of life that rejects every form of violence, whether visible or systemic.
Pope Leo XIII also authored this oft-forgotten Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel. May this be members’ rallying cry:
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
Your sister in the League,
Jessie Parkinson
National Chairperson of Social Justice